Fr. Greg Cleveland, OMV

Fr. Greg Cleveland, OMV, is a native of Chicago and graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in business administration. After working as a marketing manager for a Midwestern railroad company, he followed God’s call to priesthood in 1987, joined the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, and attended Our Lady of Grace Seminary and St. John’s School of Theology in Boston.

After completing an M.Div. in Theology and an M.A. in Spiritual Theology, he was ordained a priest in 1995. His first assignment was to St. Andrew’s parish in Avenel, New Jersey, where he worked especially with the poor, disabled and imprisoned. He obtained certification in spiritual direction from the Center for Spiritual Development in New York City, and returned to Boston to work seven years in seminary formation as rector and novice master.

He is currently executive director of the Lanteri Center for Ignatian Spirituality in Denver, Colorado, where he offers spiritual direction and retreats while teaching training programs in these ministries.

The Book – Awakening Love

Discover God’s personal love for you through this Ignatian retreat with the Song of Songs! Ignatian spiritual director and priest Greg Cleveland, OMV draws the reader into a personal experience of Ignatian spirituality through embracing this often-ignored book of the Bible. The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius have had a tremendous impact in the history of the Church, while the Song of Songs is the most sublime book of Scripture describing mystical union with God in prayer.

While both of those aspects of the book—Ignatian spirituality and the Song of Songs—may sound initially daunting, Fr. Cleveland makes them accessible, engaging, and ultimately very approachable.

You will emerge from the Spiritual Exercises more attuned to God’s presence and will in all the circumstances of your life. More conformed to Christ and his call, you’ll make better choices according to his values. The Exercises are geared to an apostolic life of the active person making choices to follow Christ in the Church and in the world.

Written following the format of a personal retreat, Awakening Love includes chapters tracing the themes of the Song of Songs as a very Christian prayer and meditation.

“Awakening Love brings us back to the core truth of all time: Jesus is the greatest good in our lives. Writing with insight, passion, and pastoral verve, Fr. Cleveland shows us how to respond to God’s gift with total self-giving that is both appropriate and supremely joyful.” Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P., Editor-in-Chief, Magnificat

Features & Benefits

demystifies the Song of Songs

offers a way of making the Spiritual Exercises

lectio divina: praying with scripture

appeals to clergy, religious, and laypeople alike

flexibility of reading and praying with it privately, or with the guidance of a director